Chandigarh, Feb. 15: The Shiromani Akali Dal today announced the names of four candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, setting the poll ball rolling in Punjab.

Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral’s son Naresh has been nominated from Jalandhar, while former finance minister Kanwaljit Singh has been pitched against chief minister Amarinder Singh’s wife Parneet Kaur in Patiala. Paranjit Kaur has been nominated from Bhatinda and Rattan Singh Ajnala from Tarn Taran. The party has already nominated Union minister for fertilisers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa from Sangrur.

Of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the Congress had won eight in 1999, followed by the Akali Dal with two. The BJP and the CPI secured one seat each while one went to Simranjit Singh Mann of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar).

The Congress had won from Ludhiana, Ropar, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Phillaur, Patiala, Hoshiarpur and Faridkot. The BJP had contested three seats but won only Gurdaspur, primarily due to actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna’s presence. The Shiromani Akali Dal could retain only Ferozepur and Tarn Taran, despite being in the government.